


Not A Chance

by bavcath



Category: Original Work
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, Coronavirus, F/F, Idealism, Older Woman/Younger Woman, Platonic Relationships, Political Campaigns, Politics, Romance, Strong Female Characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24149908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bavcath/pseuds/bavcath
Summary: United States of America, 2020- election year -A United States senator in the middle of her reelection campaign. A national party administrator. Two women, who have met before. And a campaign that turns around in an unprecedented way. Because in the end, politics is about the people- right?
Relationships: Fae Stanley/ Louisane Bredig
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	1. wherever

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting something I wrote to such a public platform. But when I wrote it last night it just felt right, and so here I am. I hope it finds some readers, even though I can´t guarantee there will be many follow-up chapters. Any feedback, positive as negative, is appreciated. Also, this is unbetaed and not exactly proofread (which might turn out to be a big mistake, as English isn´t my native language). Any and all romance will be asexual, and will be regarded as normal at that. 
> 
> Please enjoy the first little glimpse at a different way to go for politics in our crazy, extraordinary times:

„Our candidate in the AG race in Arkansas has decided to immediately halt her campaign." Abram states, more matter-of-factly than anything else, as Louisane Bredig - called Lou by everyone - walks through the door into the large conference room. He begins to say "As well as...", but Lou cuts him off. "Well, we're not her campaign, are we?" The tone in Lou's voice makes her staff hold their breath for a moment. Lou realises that everyone in the room expects her to continue, to let them in on her big plan. 

Except: She doesn't have one. All she knows is that it would feel like the worst decision she could possibly make at this time to just stop and stay home. How could she just step back when she should be out there fighting to lead the next administration, fight for a future she knows her voters deserve? So instead of saying anything else she walks to the other end of the room and sits in the chair reserved for her. Unfortunately, no one in the room caught on to her signal to just go ahead with the meeting as intended and so the silence following her initial remark stretches longer, bordering on uncomfortable. Just when Lou is about to concede and tell the half dozen staffers of her campaign present in their largest conference room what tasks they probably should start reporting to her on- since that had been the reason for this meeting in the first place- a cell phone starts ringing in an obnoxiously loud tone. Abram doesn't appear to be shocked or even surprised by the interruption: He just reaches out for his phone on the table, looks at the screen to confirm the caller ID and then proceeds to answer it. Lou considers to just ignore one of her closest aides answering a call in the middle of a meeting and starting the actual work anyways, but she ultimately decides against it. Especially given the amount of attention the rest of her team seem to pay Abram instead of her. Abram still has an air of calmness about him, that makes Lou envy him his stoicism. She has often wished she would be able to not be rattled by her emotional response to unforeseen events. It is one of the things that have impressed her about Abram ever since she first met him. But after Abram listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone for more than one minute without ever replying anything back, Lou decides that this is enough. After all, this isn't a mingling among friends but a professional meeting. She looks directly at Abram until his eyes meet hers, then she says: "Would you mind wrapping this up, we still have a campaign to run." Abram holds the eye contact, when he says into the phone: "Could you hold on for a second? Mrs. Bredig would like to speak with you personally." Lou didn't expect this, but the times when an unexpected phone call would freak her out are long behind her. 

So, she takes the phone Abram extends to her, lifts it to her ear under the curious looks of five political aides and introduces herself: "Louisane Bredig." No titles or positions in front of it, a habit she is proud to have kept from her early career in Europe. She has always disliked the way Americans seem to identify themselves and others by positions each person has been given, or less common: achieved. To Lou, the person she is talking to means just as much to her as any other, whether they have a "General" or a "farmer" in front of their name. The person on the other end of the call doesn't seem to agree with Lou's way of introducing herself. "Senator Louisane Bredig?" a young female voice asks. "Yes, speaking." Lou's voice is stern, professional. She waits for what is to come, aiming to be prepared for anything. "This is Fae Stanley. I'm calling in the name of the National Congress to talk about a memorandum we have planned regarding this year's campaign season." For a moment, Lou is uncertain how to respond. The voice of the young woman is vaguely familiar- and she finds herself wondering for a second how she can have forgotten the sound of that voice. But she feels the eyes of all the room on her, so she chooses a different, a non-emotional path. A safer path, especially in this environment. "Okay. What do you intend for it to say? And who is it supposed to address- the campaigns or the general public?" There is a momentary silence following her questions. Maybe Fae Stanley had expected a different response. But she adjusts quickly: "Regarding your first question: That is actually what I am calling about. We are interested to get as much direct input from the active campaigns as possible, to make sure that we can later present a unified response. You can certainly imagine that during this..." Lou doesn't allow the woman to finish her sentence. It's the second time this morning she has interrupted someone mid-speech, but Lou doesn't mind as much as she thinks she probably should. "Yes, I am aware of the extraordinary times. My campaign, however, will neither be halted nor suspended. Nothing in the current state of affairs accounts for such drastic measures. But I assure you, as well as the National Congress, that we are keeping a close eye on the developments and abide by the hygiene protocol and guidelines." 

This time, the woman on the other end of the line answers swiftly and with no pause. "Very well, Mrs. Bredig. Thank you for your input, we appreciate you taking the time to inform us of your position personally. Also, this memorandum will be intended for purposes of internal communication." Lou didn't think it would be this easy, so she doesn't jump in when Fae Stanley pauses her speech. The young woman considers the silence acknowledgement enough and finishes the conversation with: "I will make sure to inform you of any developments, of course, as I will all candidates affected by this. In case there are questions your staff has the relevant contact information. And that was all I wanted, really; I don't intend to intrude on your day any more than I already have. All the best for your campaign, and ... I hope you are doing well." Lou only catches the minute hesitation by chance. Briefly, she wonders if she imagined it. But that sentence could be personal. At the same time, it could just be polite. And Lou certainly wasn't in a position to expect anything personal, after she had set the tone for the call the way she had. "Goodbye, Mrs. Bredig." - "Goodbye, Ms. Stanley", she answers before taking the phone from her ear and handing it back to Abram. 

This call didn't change anything. And Lou won't allow herself to ponder the change it could have meant.


	2. To play the game...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, this seems to have ended up with a focus on Abram. But it is only the beginning- and every politician needs a good campaign manager.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for essentially having abandoned this after the first chapter. But it felt wrong to continue my political story, set in the US, when the real political US went more and more into turmoil. I debated including the protests and other recent events into this story, but I don´t feel like I would be qualified to comment on those issues, never mind writing it into my fictional world. That is in part due to my never having been to the US and in part due to my being a white person. However, I stand with Black Lives Matter, and I support equality of all people- no matter the colour of their skin, their origin, their gender, their religion, their age, etc. and I sincerely hope you will not hold it against me that I will not directly mention the protests or other events after the initial posting date of this story. Somehow, you can possibly consider this as happening in an alternate universe...
> 
> Well, so much for introductory remarks. This story is still not beta-read and English isn´t my first language. Also, despite it being situated in the US, I prefer british spelling. Sorry...
> 
> I hope you like this rather short and plot-lacking chapter. And I will try to be back with another chapter soon.
> 
> Please stay safe and healthy.
> 
> bavcath

_Abram – immediately after the phone call_

Abram took the phone in his hand, trying a little too obviously not to let his amusement show. He had known they would be calling again, and when the phone had rung earlier, he had waited for Lou to say something, to prompt him. They had worked together since Lou’s previous campaign and he had stayed on her staff as a senior advisor in between the elections. He knows her well enough to see that the cancellation and constant changing of plans put much stress on her, more than she had to shoulder directly in quite some time. She had gotten used to the day-to-day hectic of D.C., of the craziness of the life inside the small bubble on the hill and the stark contrast that could portray to life of “normal” people back home. To all those things, Lou had been able to adapt. But she needed to be in control- and this pandemic outbreak of a virus threatened to take away all her control.  
That´s why, when Abram had heard from others that Fae Stanley was likely to call him about something, he thought the familiar voice might provide a distraction – in the positive sense – for Lou. Now, having heard how the call had gone, he doubted that it had worked.

_Fae – that evening_

When her phone rings, Fae can´t help but nearly jump from her chair. She already is the last in the office, and usually that means no-one wants to be reminded of “business” until tomorrow morning. Since she also wasn´t expecting anyone to call her back- most people she spent her entire day speaking to via that very phone on her desk hadn´t wanted to talk to her in the first place, let alone would seek her out for a repeat performance. Fae looks at the number, but she doesn´t recognise it. Fae considers not answering, but she knows the unanswered call would just add to her workload tomorrow. So she reaches for the phone, picks up the receiver and starts her usual introduction: “Fae Stanley, Office…” – “Miss Stanley. I am so glad I still caught you”, Fae is immediately interrupted. “It´s Abram, from Louisane Bredigs campaign…?” Fae looks at her wrist-watch, considering the time it must be where he is. “Yes, Abram. I remember. What can I do for you at this time of day… or rather, night?”. Abrams tone remains unchanged, professional and without hurry, when he answers: “Miss Stanley, since you seem to be involved in these matters, I was hoping you might be able to tell me about the timetable the national level is considering with the … well, the advice you are in the process of putting together. Or to put it more plainly: When can we expect the result of your inquiry in written?” Fae expected her caller to continue, to give her some semblance of an explanation for his question, but after a few seconds silence she realised that he would not volunteer such information. Her eyes wandered to the page of her report on her computer screen and remained there, as she replied cautiously. “I will be finalising my input on the matter shortly. Unfortunately, it will then have to be considered by others including committees that have a regular schedule, and I cannot tell you when the conclusions agreed upon will be made available to the campaigns. Though I do hope that will be the case in as short a time as possible.” – “Alright then”, was the answer she received. This time the annoyance was clear in his voice. Abram had hoped for a different answer, though he must have anticipated her not sharing this information lightly. Fae chose to try and get a piece of information herself. “I’m sorry I can´t respond to your question in a more direct way. Is the advice that important to your campaign, given you´re calling about it at 11 p.m.?” _And at my office, no less_ , she thought. “Well, we are trying to make as many things on our schedule definitive as possible, so I hoped we could take the advisory roadmap into consideration…” Abram replied, obviously not going into details either. “And about the time: I apologise should it have been an inconvenience, but since we all know the game- you know how it is. You seem to be in the office anyway.” He softened his tone, attempting to lighten the conversation in contrast to the official lines exchanged so far. “Indeed I am”, Fae replied, smiling to herself, just as another voice in the background of the phone call asked: “Have you gotten the information? We need you back with the rest of the team as soon as possible, please.” Abram said: “Be right there, Lou”, before he apparently turned his attention back to his telephone conversation. “There you go then. It´s the game. But as you could probably hear, I am still at the HQ, too.” Before she could stop herself, Fae interjected: “And so is Lou, as it seems.” – “Yeah, Lou´s also still here. Actually, if she weren´t here neither would anybody else right now. But well, we all know her at least a little by now and we can keep up. I´ll just get myself another coffee before I join them again.” Fae thought she could hear the cheeky smile in his words. Her own smile turned a little rueful as she said: “I won´t keep you then. Sorry again for not giving a more helpful answer.” She hesitated for only a moment, then continued. “I can inform you as soon as there´s anything more definitive, if you´d like.” – “Sure, that would be good. I´ll go now. Have a good night! Bye.” Fae answered with a simple “Bye” herself and proceeded to put the receiver down again. When she looked at her screen with the report still open, she just shook her head and closed the program. After shutting off her computer she took her bag and left the office. At least a few hours sleep were necessary- and at once she felt like she desperately needed them.

~

**from** : Fae Stanley < >  
 **to** : < a.cm.int@bredig2020.com >

**subject** : preliminary findings/ advice

Hello Abram,

since our conversation last night there have been new developments: The report I have written on basis of my conversations with all the campaigns is now to be made available upon request to those who have contributed to it. Therefore, you will find a copy of it attached to this mail.  
Please let me know if there are further questions or in case I can be of any assistance to you or the campaign.

Sincerely,  
Fae Stanley

~


	3. whenever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well... everything starts to move in a certain direction. And not much of Abram, for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honour of today’s announcement by the real-life Democratic Presidential campaign, I thought I´d post a new chapter. I hope you like it. (I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with it as I wrote it rather quickly, but well...)
> 
> I hope all of you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. Take care!
> 
> bavcath
> 
> P.S.: Thank you so much for reading, commenting or leaving Kudos- it is an extraordinary feeling to know there are people out there who read this and who actually might like what I write. So genuinely, thank you!

_Lou – 6 a.m., the day after the meeting_

With the first ring of her alarm clock, Lou took it into her hands, shut it off and just stared at it. For a moment she wondered, why she had even set it- there were no meetings to attend today, she had nowhere to be exactly and there was no one else in her house who could rely on her company at their breakfast table. Unfortunately, she couldn´t allow herself to ponder the idea of staying in bed for very long, as Lou was well aware that if she broke her routine for one day, she would need the better part of the week to get back into it. Usually she would blame her age for this, as it was the socially acceptable cause for such problems, but she knew better. Even though she was 52 years old now, her failure to slip into the day easily had persisted ever since her husband had died a few years ago. It had been easier for Lou to maintain a routine when there had been another person depending on it. Lou sat up in her bed as she considered this. It wasn´t entirely true. There had been one time, a period of few months maybe … In those months her schedule had flowed more easily, and routine hadn´t seemed like too much of a burden. And again, the reason had been an external one. Not a relationship or a lover, who had stayed around, but more of a presence of a person who had just been there. And whose interactions with her made her feel something new, something different. One of the more peculiar things had been that, once they had started to talk (sometimes by chance when they had run into each other in the building) they simply didn´t stop again. That is, until one of them (usually Lou) thought to look at the time and then proceeded to end the conversation to get back to work. Lou shook her head. That had been years ago and in the meantime she had learned very well to maintain her routine despite the self-discipline required to stay within the routines boundaries. Lou put the alarm clock back onto her night stand and started to get out of bed. Maybe, she thought, she should get a dog after all. A good friend of hers had suggested as much a few years back, but given her busy schedule she had always refrained from actually doing so. After all, the animal would rely on the routine and be around the house with her. She would have an individual to care for, in a way. Her friend had suggested that with a dog, she would be less alone. And since she loved dogs, her friend had said, maybe there was some joy in being around a living being that adored her. Lou smiled at that, she had answered the statement by describing the kind of mail she got whenever she went on the campaign trail, and how lovingly some people at those political events seemed to look at her. At least her response had earned her a laugh. Lou abruptly changed her course and instead of the kitchen, she now walked towards her office, where she had left her phone the previous evening before stopping in her tracks completely. She hadn´t actually seen or spoken to her friend in a private capacity in a long time and just messaging at six in the morning about an interaction from years ago seemed like a bad idea to her. It wasn´t that Lou was a bad friend, per se, but keeping in touch with someone over a longer period of time and with considerable geographic distance between them- that didn´t come easily to her. And so, over time, the private interactions and text messages had gotten less and less, until they didn´t text or call each other at all any more. Since she now stood close to her office, Lou decided she was going to get her phone anyways and then make some coffee. She could just look at what had happened in the few hours since she had gone to sleep. After that she would start with the senate work, which she preferred to do uninterrupted, before later that morning she would turn her attention to her campaign- when it was late enough to not be considered impolite when calling people to ask for money or assistance.

~

 **from** : a.cm.int@bredig2020.com

 **to** : lb.c.int@bredig2020.com

 **subject** : FW: preliminary findings/ advice

Good morning Lou,

a few minutes ago I got this mail from Fae Stanley. Since I won´t be able to read it or be at the office before 2 pm today, I just wanted to let you know.

Have a good day, see you later

Abram

~

_Fae – 8 a.m., the same day_

Fae was restless. She had been for quite some time now and last night had been one of the more difficult ones. Overall, maybe she had slept for two hours, tops. This unprecedented situation and its implications made her feel constantly on edge. It was like she wanted to take one step at a time, be cautious and use the slower turnover in everyday life, while at the same time she felt that everything was happening way too fast and her reactions could only be fast enough if she was prepared for anything the very second it happened. This constant debate in her mind meant a lot of stress for Fae, internally at least, and the lack of sleep didn´t help matters at all. She began to realise it was taking its toll on her, wearing her out. Now, after trying (rather unsuccessfully) to find energy somewhere at the bottom of her cup of tea, she went to put make up on. Then, she would go back to administrative offices and take up where she left yesterday… or rather, earlier this morning, given she had spent some of her insomnia-induced waking hours going through her work mail and sending a few mails as well.

~

_comp_questions.docx_

_\- How would the number of volunteers be affected?_

_\- Could the organising and fundraising be run through the original campaign or would a new legal structure be required?_

_\- Where could masks/ disinfectant/ gloves/ soap be acquired?_

_\- What relation should exist between the original campaign and the relief effort?_

_\- When can “normal” campaigning be resumed and how could transition work?_

_\- Would the same people be in charge- would they want to be in charge?_

_\- Can an isolated campaign decide to do it or does it need to be nationwide?_

_\- Who could be approached for fundraising?_

_\- How much would the set-up cost before cost of actually helping? (How much of the raised money can we claim goes directly to relief effort?)_

_\- National level: hands-on or hands-off?_

_\- Does it need ‘official’ approval in advance to not be shouted down from our own people?_

_[end of document]_


End file.
